Perfect Timing
by QueenRiver
Summary: Perfect timing was hard to come by for Stiles when he wanted to propose to the love of his life. Can he make his dream proposal perfect? Find out. Five times Stiles tries to propose to Lydia and one time he FINALLY does. Written for Stydia Secret Santa 2014.
1. Chapter 1

**Perfect timing**

A/N: It is my fanfiction in Stydia and Teen Wolf fandom. Stydia is my numero uno OTP as of now and I would defend it till my last breath. This was written for the Stydia Secret Santa and I loved writing this. Thanks to MANI for giving me this wonderful prompt. Hope you like this. Please review and tell me if I should continue. Happy Reading :)

**Chapter 1 : The First Try**

Stiles had never understood the pull a certain strawberry blonde had on him. He hadn't had a conversation per se with Lydia Martin but he was already spell bound by her. Right from the way she always came to the class proper and prim to how she would act with manners even at this age made everyone notice her. But for Stiles it was far more of than that drew him to her. He loved how she always had an answer for everything the teacher asked; the way her eyes twinkled with excitement whenever she solved a difficult subtraction and how she always carried a book too big for her. He also liked how she would scrunch her nose when she was confused and the way she rolled her eyes when someone acted stupidly. Right then, he was watching Lydia solve a complex math problem from a fifth grade book in her hand on the ground near the see-saws when she thought no one was watching her. He couldn't understand even the first step and believe him when he says he is not that bad in mathematics. As she completed solving it, a self-satisfied smile crept upon her face which made her even more beautiful.

At that moment, Stiles thought he could never meet such a perfect girl anywhere. He was so in love with her. Or that was what he thought. He was amazed by her every day and she had never failed to surprise him. So what do boys do when they love a girl? Yes, they marry her. Dad had explained about it one time over dinner that that was how he married his mother. He was so lucky to have found her so early in his life unlike others who had to wait their whole lives. He was going to propose to her, right there right now. Yes that was what he was going to do. He stepped forward just as his best friend Scott came running yelling, "Stiles, you really have to see this. You know how far I could throw the ring ball. More than that Jackson. Stiles come on listen to me" he whined. Stiles huffed at his friend and retorted, "Scott, I have to do something important". "What is so important than this?" asked Scott a little offended. But as Stiles turned to see Lydia, he was met with empty see-saws and all traces of the insane maths solution erased.

He trudged into his home dejectedly and Claudia sensed something was wrong almost instantly. But she waited for him to open up and when she realized that that was not going to happen, she prodded him by asking, "So Stiles, are you going to Scott's place tonight or is he coming over for the video games?" "Don't talk about him, mom. He ruined everything today" answered his dejected son. "Oh come on, sweetie. I am sure Scott wouldn't have done anything like that" consoled Claudia rubbing soothing circles on the little boy's back. "Well, he spoiled the moment I was about to propose to Lydia. I mean who wanted to know how far he could throw those balls anyway" complained Stiles. "What? Honey, do you even know what proposal means?" asked Claudia gently. "Of course I know. It is asking the girl you love to marry you" answered little Stiles triumphantly. "Ok and you say you _love_ this girl?" emphasized Claudia. Stiles narrowed his eyes as he knew this tone very well. It is what his mother used when she didn't believe what he said.

"Yes. Why mom? Don't you believe me?" questioned an enraged Stiles. "Oh honey, of course I believe you. So you really like this Lydia?" asked Claudia finding this amusing. "Yes mom. She is so pretty and brilliant. She solves so many difficult problems and always raises her hand when a question is asked. I want to marry her" declared Stiles confidently. Claudia chuckled at how adoringly he spoke about the girl and how he had a scary conviction in his voice. "Sweetheart, listen. I am not saying you shouldn't marry her. But maybe this is not the right time. You guys have so much to do and who knows she may amaze you even more in the coming years. But when the timing is right and I assure you will know when it is perfect, you should not propose lightly. You should take her to the most beautiful place on earth and make her feel like she is the luckiest girl on earth. It must be the perfect moment for her as all the girls imagine about this all their lives" smiled Claudia weaving her fingers through her son's hair affectionately.

"Oh! But what if she says no?" asked Stiles with fear in his voice. It was so simple when he thought about it in the playground. But right now after hearing his mother's speech he wasn't sure if he would be able to pull off such a thing. "Oh honey! No one can say no to you. After all aren't you my sweet little boy? I have faith in you" assured Claudia. At that moment Mr. Stilinski walked into the room depositing his keys. He began searching for food as he was pretty exhausted with the raid that night. "So what are you guys talking about? Did I miss anything important?" stealing French fries from Stiles' plate. Claudia just smirked and replied, "Oh nothing. Stiles just wanted to propose to the girl he loved today" Mr. Stilinski chocked on his fries as he spluttered looking between his son who was grinning widely to his wife who tried miserably to hold back her laughter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:** **The** **Realization**

It had been one long week at the office with the crime rate increasing as the weekend approached. Seriously you would think the criminals would consider giving a reprieve to the detectives at least during holidays. However as Stiles entered his place, he was assaulted with the mouthwatering smell of chocolate essence. He had a pretty good idea of who was baking but was just confused to find Lydia at home at this hour. Usually she worked till late researching and came back home only after he was passed out. But seeing her after a long day was such a welcome surprise that he couldn't resist wanting to scare her.

Just as he crept silently behind her, Lydia spoke without even turning back lifting her flour stained hand, "Don't even think about it Stiles. I want this to be perfect." He grinned as he wrapped his hands around her waist and kissed her shoulders before mumbling, "How the hell do you know I was back? I was being discreet" Lydia snorted as she answered, "You can never be discreet Stiles even when your life depends on it. So just forget about it and taste the flour" feeding Stiles a spoonful. "Well it tastes as amazing as the chef" replied Stiles as she smacked his arm.

"Enough with the compliments. Now help me get the cake done" ordered Lydia before getting busy with the preparations. Stiles couldn't help but stare at her in awe as she meticulously started baking. She was wearing a cute apron with her strawberry blonde hair pulled into a pony tail. She had streaks of flour in her face but she still looked as breathtaking as ever. Stiles wanted to spend his rest of his life like this. Coming home to Lydia, being with her through the worst and best times and cuddling with her as he slept were the highlights of his life. He was happiest when he was with her and he wants it to remain the same. So the only logical solution was proposing to her. Right, that was it.

He should propose to her and if she said yes then his life will be bliss. But what if she said no? Well he would have to find out and for that he had to ask her. Just as he thought how to kneel in the cramped space of their kitchen, he realized that he was being ridiculous. Of course he can't propose to her now. First of all he did not have ring. Second of all it had to be perfect. He was going to propose to the love of his life. Was this how he was going to do it? One day when his grandkids asked about this, what would he say? That he proposed when he smelled horrible coming back from work when Lydia was covered with flour, without a ring? No he had to plan it and it was going to be perfect.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Missing Case**

It was such a cliché setup. An expensive restaurant with romantic ambience filled with sophisticated people. Stiles does know it was such a dead giveaway what he was about to do. Himself dressed in such a neat suit and tux with Lydia looking as elegant and beautiful as ever, this was a scene straight out of a Hollywood movie. They had never been to such a restaurant before but Stiles had somehow convinced Lydia that they deserved such a place on their fifth anniversary of getting together.

She was surprised by his suggestion but still was incredibly pleased. Don't get her wrong she did love their diners and cafes, but it didn't hurt to visit these amazing restaurants once in a while. So Lydia was actually enjoying the evening. However Stiles was so out of his depth. His palms were sweating and he resisted the urge to rub the back of his head. He had memorized such a long speech that he was afraid he would forget most of it. Because this is Lydia Martin he was proposing to. The girl he had been pining on from his third grade.

It was all surreal for him. Him sitting with her, holding her hands with Lydia smiling adoringly at him. When the waiter left them with their desserts, Stiles breathed in and cleared his throat. Lydia looked at him strangely but didn't say anything as Stiles began, "You know I still can't believe that you are sitting here with me and we are having this dinner as we celebrate our fifth anniversary." Lydia realized something was off but still smiled as she said cheekily, "Well your ten year plan does seem to have worked" Stiles was taken aback as he asked accusingly, "How did you know about that? Did that traitor Scott tell you?"

She just shrugged and replied smirking, "It doesn't matter. I know you had been planning for ages to make me fall for you" "Well I did execute my plan pretty well. Didn't I?" told Stiles smugly. "Don't get cocky, Mr. Stilinski" warned Lydia. "Yeah right. That is not what I was about to tell. It is just that I consider myself the luckiest person in the world by having you as my girlfriend" he said patting his coat pocket. To his absolute horror, he found that the ring box he was about to propose with was missing. He panicked as he got up and checked his pant pockets and every other pocket available as Lydia looked on at him confusedly.

"What is wrong Stiles?" questioned Lydia as she noticed many heads turned towards their direction. He continued searching without hearing her when he heard her hissing his name. When he finally realized what a fool he was making out of himself he settled down and stuttered, "Hmmm, Lydia, I…. I didn't bring my purse" as he closed his eyes. Lydia looked at him incredulously and said, "You could have just told me. I have my card on me. God, you were literally dancing out there searching all your pockets. For a minute, I thought you were going to strip. I will be back" Stiles put down his head on the table as he cursed himself. Only he, Stiles Stilinski would forget to bring the ring when he was about to propose.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Other Proposal**

Stiles glared at the all-important diamond ring which he now held in his shaking hands in the kitchen of the Mccalls . He knew fully well that this could go horribly wrong ten times worse than the last time he tried to propose but he had somehow felt that it would be comfortable being among their friends and family. Boy, was he wrong? Right from the moment he stepped into Scott's house for spending the Christmas evening with 'The Pack', his overactive mind came up with thousand possible ways this night could end up a disaster. He sometimes wondered why his mind always came up with such crazy ideas. Come on, who would be insane enough to propose to the girl of their dreams in front of their entire friends and family. Because it wasn't just his best friend Scott and his mother. No there was Kira, Issac, Derek, Braeden, Liam and his girlfriend whose name he didn't even know. He couldn't even begin to imagine his father's disappointed face if Lydia rejects him. Maybe it was a bad idea from the start. Maybe he was still not ready to take the big step. Maybe this was all one horrible mistake. He finally concluded that it would be unfair to ruin everyone's Christmas for his sake if something went wrong and started to stuff the god damn ring into his pant pockets when someone came in calling his name. However, being his clumsy self, Stiles dropped the box to the floor just as his best friend came in looking at him puzzled.

"Why the hell are you taking so much time to bring a pie? And what is this that you have dropped here?" questioned Scott as he bent down to retrieve the fallen box. Just as Stiles was about to lunge for it, Scott opened the fancy blue velvet box, to find a sparkling diamond ring residing in it elegantly. Scott gaped like a fish as he watched the ring and Stiles back and forth before exclaiming, "Oh my god! You are going to propose to Lydia!" Stiles violently shushed Scott flailing his arms as said, "Dude! No one knows about it!" "I can't believe this! My best friend is going to ask his third grade crush to marry him at my house. Dude, I never thought this day would come" told Scott excitedly. "First of all Sush! And second of all try love of my life not third grade crush!" retorted Stiles. "Whatever! I still can't believe you didn't let me in on this" said Scott offended. "Scotty, come on. I wanted to tell you. But I knew you can never stop beaming like an idiot if had told you! And this would totally ruin the surprise" reasoned Stiles.

"What? I can keep a secret! I am an alpha and I have kept numerous secrets" replied Scott indignantly. "Yeah right! Remember when I told you Lydia and I got together and wanted to keep it a secret but you couldn't stop smiling at us whenever you saw us together that even Coach came to know about us?" asked Stiles. "Well that was because I couldn't believe you two guys actually got together after all those years. I was proud of my boy" defended Scott, "So you are going to propose now?" "I thought so. But I am actually not going to" said Stiles. "Why not?" asked a puzzled Scott. "Because I don't want to appear as a total loser in front of the whole pack if Lydia refuses. I don't know, Scott. Everything has to be perfect when I ask her. She is Lydia Martin. I still can't believe when she curls beside me during nights that she agreed to be my girlfriend. I don't know if I could handle it if she said no" confessed Stiles.

"Stiles, I am only going to say this once so listen carefully. I myself can't fully get my mind on the fact that Lydia who didn't even spare a glance at you all those years, is now your girlfriend. I mean I still remember her looking past us even if we are right in front of her. But this is not the same Lydia. This Lydia is a strong, intelligent, loving even though a bit sassy woman who cares for everyone around her and you played a huge role in this change. You can't see this but she looks at you the same way you always look at her like she can't believe that you are actually beside her holding her hands. You guys are nauseatingly perfect for each other and I am pretty sure when you propose, her response would be, 'Took you so long?'" assured Scott. By this time, Stiles had a confident grin on his face as he quipped, "You think so?" "Yes! Now knock off that stupid smirk off your face and execute the best proposal Beacon Hills had ever seen" pumped Scott. They did their weird routine of cheering each other and left the kitchen with huge smiles on their face.

As Stiles entered the living room, he saw that Lydia was laughing at something Kira was explaining, and in that moment he felt so contended. He realized he wanted nothing but for Lydia to be happy like this all their lives and he would be the happiest if he was the reason for it. He moved towards her determined to make this evening an unforgettable one in all their lives. Just as he reached her, Liam stood up and turned to his girlfriend bending on one knee. Stiles watched the scene unfold in horror as Liam began to speak, "Sophie, I am not going to lie that right I thought you were the one right from the day I saw you, no. There were lots of fights, confrontations, jealousy, supernatural creatures involved in our love story. But those are what make it special. I wouldn't want to change anything that happened. Because that is what lead me to you. I know this may seem early, but I don't see any point in waiting anymore. Will you marry me?" The girl whose name was apparently Sophie now had tears in her eyes, as she nodded mutely. Liam grinned at her and captured her lips as everyone around them clapped enthusiastically. Kira squealed near them, Issac went forward to congratulate them and even Derek smiled watching the young couple. Stiles on the other hand turned to glare at Scott who was looking at Liam proudly. On feeling Stiles eyes on him, he however sobered up and moved towards Liam. Stiles sighed as he sat down defeated on the couch with Lydia's hand rested on his shoulder. "Aren't they cute?" asked Lydia with a twinkling smile.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 : Fifth time Lucky?**

After such a mishap on Christmas Eve, Stiles thought it would be better to go for a safe option. After all nothing could really go wrong when you are planning to propose at home, right? It was their home, the place where they lived their amazing years when they got together. This apartment held lot of fond memories, right from intense fights, hot make up sessions to quiet content moments. Also, there was no way he could forget to bring the ring nor would there be any frustrating juniors who would steal his limelight by proposing instead.

Yes it was a perfect safe option and he was not going to ruin it. That is why Stiles was now scanning the scented candles section debating on which one Lydia would love. He was full on whistling when he climbed the stairs to their apartment. As he neared his door, he was so positive about the whole thing.

He was confident that he was going to execute the best proposal the world had ever seen. However, just like always everything was too good to be true. He found Lydia crying silently and violently wiping her tears as she hiccupped. Lydia looked up to see a baffled Stiles opening and closing his mouth not sure what happened. "Stiles" whispered Lydia as he bound towards her and knelt down before her. He soothed her by allowing her to bury her face in his shoulder as he rubbed smooth circles on her back. Her tears gradually receded and she got up to look straight into his eyes.

Having known her all these years Stiles waited patiently for her to compose herself as he went to their kitchen to get a hot chocolate. It was kind of their tradition. Whenever either one of them was down, the other would offer them hot chocolate and wait for them to open up. By the time, Lydia completed the hot chocolate, she had visibly calmed down and started talking with a strained voice, "I am so sorry, Stiles. It was supposed to be such a quiet night, just the two of us. I am sorry for ruining it" Stiles didn't reply but just nodded on as he knew she wasn't yet done speaking.

"As you know I had lunch with my colleagues to celebrate our research breakthrough. Honestly I was really having a wonderful time until someone I knew entered the restaurant" Stiles looked on confused as she elaborated, "It was Jackson. He had come with his latest girlfriend. And I assure you I was not affected by it. It is true that I had loved him once. However I am totally over him. So I planned to completely ignore him. But that jerk didn't. He came over to where I sat and started spewing all those non sense. It was as if it was back to our high school where he always reduced me to a mess of insecurities. Even after having crossed so much all these years, he still has that effect on me and I hate it. I don't want to be weak".

Stiles cupped her face as he brought it up and made her look into his eyes as he wanted her to know that he was saying the truth and said, "Lydia, believe me you are anything but weak. You are the strongest woman I have ever seen in my life. And I am not telling this because you are my girlfriend. No, I have seen how confident and amazing you can right from when we were kids. That's what made me fall for you in the first place. You may have been guarded and misunderstood for a small part of your life but you came out of that phase incredibly.

If not for you, half of our pack would be dead by now. Remember how many times you put your life on line to save our asses. Just because some butthead came acted the way he had always been doesn't mean that you are weak. I am honestly disappointed you didn't kick him" Lydia laughed at this as she replied, "Well, I did punch him on his face" Stiles smiled proudly as he exclaimed, "Now that's my girl" and engulfed her into a big bear hug.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 : A Fairytale of their own**

A month had gone by after a series of tries by Stiles to get Lydia to marry him. Normally Stiles was not someone to give up so easily. After all he had waited almost for ten years to date Lydia. However, he somehow felt it was not quite a favorable time for him, if his plans had been derailed for five times in a row. Maybe now was not the time to propose. Stiles and Lydia were now returning from a late dinner from their favorite pizza place after some failed cooking experiments at home.

Stiles couldn't help but look over at the gorgeous woman walking beside him. He had been in love with this amazing woman called Lydia Martin for the whole of his life and he wouldn't want to change a thing that led him to this great relationship. At this moment he wanted nothing but to make Lydia understand how much he loves her and how desperate he is to want her for the whole of his life.

Instincts were his strong point no matter how horrible it had been. It was his instincts which saved his friends lives numerous times. So Stiles relied on his instinct for one last time as he knelt down in front of Lydia in the middle of the road. Lydia looked back at him confused in an adorable way. When he opened a box with a diamond ring inside it (Yes, he had always kept it in his pocket after that mishap in the restaurant), Lydia let out a surprised gasp.

"Lydia Martin, you would not believe it but I have been practicing this speech since I was seven years old. I had always loved you even when I didn't understand what love truly meant. It was the bossy, insanely brainy strawberry blonde who stole my heart right from the beginning. Maybe what I felt for you before I became your friend was nothing but fascination. Maybe it had just been a crush. But after Scott got bitten our world converged and we were forced to work together. That's when I got to know the real Lydia and she is even more amazing that the one I had imagined. You are stunning. There is no denying that. But you are also strong, kind, fearless, intelligent and loyal. I want to come back to you daily, have disagreements, fight passionately, make up even more passionately and love the mini Stiles and Lydia as much as I love you. Do you think you could make me the luckiest man alive and say yes?" ended Stiles with hope in his voice.

Lydia was too stunned to speak but recovered quickly as she exclaimed, "Yes, Oh my God yes". Stiles face split into a huge grin as he slipped the ring finally on her finger. He stood up to kiss his fiancé for the first time in the middle of the road under the stars making it a fairy tale of their own.


End file.
